Chinese cuisine has introduced us to all kinds of condiments that many of us can’t imagine living without – take duck sauce, for instance, which is a thick, sticky plum-based sauce that goes on just about everything, including proteins, vegetables and, unfortunately, our clothes. Thankfully, some all-natural cleaning products like natural dish soap and eco friendly laundry pods, which are already in your home, can get duck sauce out of clothing effectively without the use of harsh chemicals.
Getting Rid of a Duck Sauce Stain
It’s the dark, sugary and fruity nature of duck sauce that makes it discolor clothing, but the good news is that it’s rarely permanent. Even better, you can use some basic nontoxic cleaning products that you already have in your home to get the job done.
Step #1: Begin by Blotting
If it’s still a fresh stain, start blotting away the excess moisture using a damp, white and clean cloth, or sponge. Dab and dab some more, until you’re no longer picking anything up.
Step #3: Pretreating Goes a Long Way
Now comes the pretreatment, which is arguably the most important step. Stick to all-natural cleaning products to avoid the use of toxic chemicals that can remove stains, but at a cost. We suggest using Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap. Why? Because it’s a non toxic dish soap that our customers use successfully to pretreat all kinds of stains. Go ahead and dab this eco friendly dish soap directly onto the stain and let it sit there for 15 minutes before rinsing it out with some cold water.
Step #4: Throw It in the Wash
Now, all that you need to do is launder the garment as normal based on its care instructions. From here, you can go ahead and wash the garment according to its care label, using your usual laundry practices. It’s always best to opt for natural laundry pods which can fight stains without relying on harsh chemicals to do so. Stick to nontoxic laundry pods like our 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods or Stoneworks Laundry Detergent Pods. These eco friendly laundry pods boast natural stain-fighting ingredients that can tackle a duck sauce stain head-on.
After that, go ahead and throw the garment in the dryer with some natural dryer sheets/ sustainable dryer sheets such as Classic Laundry Dryer Sheets or Stoneworks Dryer Sheets, or even Grab Green Dryer Balls, as any of these options do a terrific job when it comes to preventing cling and softening fabrics.
If It’s an Old Duck Sauce Stain
If you didn’t discover that you spilled duck sauce on your favorite shirt until days later, there’s no need to panic! There’s a great chance that you can still get rid of the stain using the exact same method above, only skipping the blotting stage (since it’s no longer necessary) and keeping the pretreatment on for twice as long.
If the Clothing is Delicate
If you have a garment that requires dry-cleaning, you should call your dry-cleaner and ask them if they can remove a duck sauce stain. Chances are that they can, since they have years of experience dealing with all kinds of stains. If the garment requires handwashing, simply use the same detergent and handwash as normal.
If you have to let the garment air-dry, go ahead and air-dry it as you normally do. By the time you get to the drying stage, the stain should already be gone anyway, as how you dry it has no impact on whether or not the stain will be removed.
Duck Sauce Doesn’t Have to Ruin Your Favorite Clothes!
Sticky and sweet, duck sauce hits the spot like nothing else. And, should you spill some on your shirt or pants, don’t worry – it’s a stain that can be removed pretty easily, since fruit-based stains are rarely permanent as long as you follow the steps above.
